Film of the Week: 'Protagonist'

On paper, Jessica Yu's documentary 'Protagonist' does not sound like the most alluring film: It's essentially four talking heads telling their life stories. But the four men Yu has found for this somewhat-experimental work are extremely alluring subjects.

Hans-Joachim Klein is the German son of cop/Nazi sympathizer who becomes one of Europe's most notorious terrorists. Mark Pierpont attempted to "save himself" from homosexuality by becoming a Christian missionary (it didn't work). Joe Loya is a Mexican American who was beat so brutally by his father he rebelled by stabbing him in the neck and robbing 29 banks. And Yu's husband, Mark Salzman, is so tired of being picked on and so inspired by David Carradine he becomes a kung fu master.

What ties them all together, according to Yu? They could be straight out of Euripedes play. 'Protagonist,' which debuted at Sundance and played in limited release last November, is an underseen gem. You can watch in full, or snag it onto your own site, from SnagFilms.com.